Invest in women, not war: UN Global Advocate for Spotlight Initiative Cecilia Suárez calls for action on gender equality

UNITED NATIONS, New York - UN Global Advocate for Spotlight Initiative, actress Cecilia Suárez, has called on leaders to prioritize gender equality over war at a high-level meeting of the General Assembly on the thirtieth anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women. 

The theme of the event was "Recommitting to, resourcing and accelerating the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls".

Convened by the President of the General Assembly, the meeting was an opportunity for world leaders to demonstrate the political will and accountability required to realize the promise of gender equality and the empowerment of all women.

“As every year, we gather this month to look at the world we inhabit today: A world that is undoubtedly complex — marked by multiple armed conflicts, a genocide in plain sight, an increasingly severe climate crisis, and the unstoppable advance of technology without a clear and transparent legal framework,” said Ms. Suárez.

With only five years remaining in the Sustainable Development Goal timeline, Ms. Suárez spoke about the need to urgently invest in women and girls, asking “How much longer will we accept being treated as second-class citizens?”

She pointed out the large disparity between global spending on gender equality versus defense budgets: “So far in 2025 alone, the fight for gender equality faces a budget deficit of 420 billion dollars. By contrast, global investment in military spending reaches 2.718 trillion dollars…In other words, today the world prefers to spend six times more on preparing for conflict than on empowering and safeguarding half of its population — who, let us recall, are also building the economy.

“The inevitable question is this: What have we normalized, that we consider having the means of destruction more important than creating development and opportunities for women and girls?”

Ms. Suárez declared that this was not only an emergency affecting women, but that men also suffer in a world that denies their full humanity. 

Despite the urgency of the situation, she said that change is possible.

“Spotlight Initiative has already shown through its mechanisms, programmes and legal frameworks that positive and tangible results can be achieved in this struggle,” said Ms. Suárez.

“What is required now is leadership from those gathered here today. Leadership that drives reforms and, through concrete action, commits to investing consciously in the fight for equality.”